The NY Times account read, “President Trump faced new questions about his health on Sunday after videos emerged of him gingerly waking down a ramp at the US Military Academy.” The Washington Post headline read, “Trump tries to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at West Point.” Finally, this one from CNN, “Trump’s walk sparks questions about his health.”
Biden’s obvious stumble down stairs in May in front of the world press at the G7 Summit in Japan was treated much differently than Trump. For a reader to learn about the Summit stumble, you needed to go to Yahoo News, Newsweek, the NY Post or YouTube. None of the same news sources that ridiculed Trump reported the G7 incident, including Hillary Clinton’s reaction that “his (Biden) age is an issue” ( FOX News).
Thursday, Biden took a major tumble, ironically at a US Military Academy event. It required him being lifted up off the stage by those around him. NBC’s headline read, “Biden fine after fall on stage at AF Academy.”
In 2020, Joe Biden was asked about Trump’s halting walk. He said, “Watch how I run up ramps and watch how he stumbles down ramps.” In 2020, Trump turned 74 the day before the West Point event. Joe Biden turned 80 six months ago and his recent conflicts with gravity make him, the President of the United States, look weak, feeble and decrepit before an increasingly dangerous world.
CNN‘s headline about Biden’s fall yesterday read, “White House says Biden is fine after tripping over sandbag and falling.” After seeing the double standard, keep in mind, no one else tripped on that stage, but then no one else was 80 years old needing to be propped up by the news media as well as those around him.
Ralph Miller
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We all have the right to express our disdain on any subject. But failure of expression occurs when truthfulness and fairness are sacrificed in one’s expression, resulting in a double standard. This sacrifice may be by omission, incorrect comparisons, lies or misinformation, or a myriad of other reasons thought necessary by the person exercising his or her right.
Mr. Ralph Miller’s comparison of President Biden’s physicality today at age 80 with Trump’s physicality at age 75 in June, 2020 is a double standard. Clearly not an apples to apples comparison as anyone nearing those ages knows, and clearly unfair.
Understanding that all media regularly publish news or commentary that involve double standards, here are some of the double standards of Fox, OANN, NewsMaxx, Brietbart, et.al. and Republicans.
1. Those media defending Trump as unfairly investigated (The Mueller Report), impeached or indicted. They also virtually ignore alleged Republican or conservative (think SCOTUS/Thomas/Harlan Crow) misdeeds while covering nearly every vague allegation against Democrats or liberals. Attorney David Weiss (a Trump appointee) had possession of Hunter Biden's laptop and began his investigation in 2018. The Republican House is now investigating five years later. Even Republican Senator Grassley admits he did not care about the accuracy of an FBI document about the Bidens. (newsweek 6/1/2023)
2. Republicans in Congress virtually ignoring every alleged misdeed by Republicans, but calling for investigations into anything and all things Democrat or jumping straight to impeachment. Think about Republican non-participation into the insurrection investigation and MTG’s calling for impeachment of President Biden, and certain Cabinet Members. Nor is there a call for investigation into Trump's involvement with Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf, and the six tournaments played at his courses in the U.S. tournaments began in April 2022, but negotiations had to begin much earlier, or even before Trump left office.
3. When the Republicans took the House in January 2023, House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R-KY) dropped the investigation launched by House Democrats launched in 2022 into the Kushner/Saudi Arabian money. Kushner was given $2,000,000,000 by the Saudis to “manage”, although had no money management experience. Compare that amount to the $10,000,000 allegedly earned over maybe eight years from China and Ukraine by Hunter and James Biden. In March of this year, Comer agreed it could be politically unsustainable to investigate Kushner. (The Hill, 3/21/2023)
4. Comer also halted an examination about whether former President Donald Trump improperly used his presidency to pad his wallet. Recently, Trump charged the Secret Service over $1,100 per night for staying at his property. Further investigation into Trump's dealings is not something that interests Comer. (salon.com, 3/6/2020; nbcnews.com 10/17/2022)
Apparently Republican wrongdoing is neither worthy news nor worthy of investigation.
How about several double standards with extra shots of hypocrisy, anyone?
Joe Warren